Liverpool will demand Edin Dzeko as part of any deal that takes Raheem Sterling to Manchester City. That’s according to reports in the Daily Mirror, who believe that the outgoing Premier League champions will include the Bosnian striker as part of an offer worth almost £50m.
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Liverpool transfer news
With Arsenal joining them in the race for Sterling’s signature, City know they need to act fast to have any chance of getting something done. That’s caused them to offer us their 29-year-old hit-man, who’s scored 72 goals during his four-and-a-half-years at the club. The January arrival of Wilfried Bony has seen Dzeko fall yet further down the City pecking order and it’s believed that he could now be open to a move.
City were hopeful that a straight cash offer might be enough to sway us but their attempts have so far been firmly rebuffed. They’re so desperate to get talks moving that the Mirror believes they will block any attempts for us to talk to James Milner, until they’re allowed access to Sterling.
Milner is just one of a number of targets for Brendan Rodgers and co this summer, with the experienced England international viewed as a decent replacement for our departing captain, Steven Gerrard. However, our primary need during this transfer window is a striker, so it will be interesting to see what we make of our rival’s offer.
Despite the Mirror’s report, common sense tells us that our owners are unlikely to be swayed by the inclusion of a player who has scored just six goals this season as part of the deal. Arsenal have already put a similar offer on the table with Theo Walcott (via the Daily Star), which is arguably the more appealing of the two deals.
All the while, Rodgers insists that the player is going to stay. Speaking in Friday’s press conference, he said (via The Guardian): “It is pretty clear where it’s at. He has two years left and I expect him to honour it.”
Unfortunataely for City, it looks as if they’re going to need to try a bit harder. Maybe if they threw in Sergio Aguero or David Silva…